February 23, 2015

The fantastic Daniel James Keys taught a workshop at Pixar this weekend. I absolutely love his work! Not all great painters are great teachers – Daniel is both. Two full days of great instruction, followed by painting flowers, surrounded by my talented co-workers at Pixar == one happy Charu. I am fortunate to work at a place that supports my love of painting, and to have Brian in my life – for letting me take any amount of time I want to paint. Now all I need is to rest my tired feet – standing on a concrete floor for 8 hours a day is hard work…

January 26, 2015

I am conflicted about sunsets. Or rather, about images of sunsets. All year round I marvel at Bay Area sunsets where the sky seems like the palette of an artist gone wild. And yet I cringe at the idea of putting up a photograph of a sunset on my wall. In big part because of the association of sunset photographs with garish inspirational calendars and splashy travel catalogs. In other part because no camera can begin to capture the splendor of a real sunset – the complexity and delicacy of color invariably gets crushed into a limited and unappetising range. Also not to be underestimated is the unquantifiable element of being out in the open air and “feeling” the wide horizon and 360-view. Paint is better, but how often have I wished for Titanium White to be whiter and over-range! This is all, of course, just a long caveat to my nervous attempt to paint a sunset. Anyway, here it is….till another evening.

September 20, 2014

‘Delicious’ is opening at Studio Gallery in San Francisco next weekend. It is their annual art show inspired by food and drink. Some of my paintings are in the show, along with works by my talented friends Nancy Tsang and TomW. The show is up from September 25th – October 20th. It’s always a treat to see the shows so lovingly put up by Rab and Jennifer, so stop by if you’re in the neighborhood!

June 1, 2014

The Bay area is never as beautiful, ripe and delicious as in late spring – early summer. Last week I painted outdoors with a painter whose work I absolutely love – Bryan Mark Taylor. His love for the outdoors is evident in his breathtaking paintings. I had three great, sun-filled days over the course of which I learned to see light and atmosphere in a new way. As a side effect I also darkened by 5 shades of tan…..much as I love my day job it leaves me in serious need of vitaminD. These outdoors summer moments are so precious and fleeting, I have to grab them by the horns when I can.

November 25, 2013

It’s persimmon season! Much as I love eating persimmons, I like painting them even more. Growing up in India, persimmons were a rarity and we called it “the Japanese fruit”. In California, though, they are all over the farmer’s markets and fruit stalls in the fall. I can marvel over the reds, oranges, yellows and greens of persimmons for hours, they are such a beautiful sight to behold. I hope to get in a few more persimmon paintings before the end of the season. It’s really a win-win for me – first I paint them and then I eat my subjects……bwahahahahaha!!

November 4, 2013

Some of my work is in the show “tiny” at Studio Gallery in San Francisco. The opening reception was yesterday and was fantastic! It was such a treat to see all the gorgeous paintings put up so lovingly by Rab and Jennifer. The show is up till Dec. 23rd. If you are in the neighborhood stop by to see “tiny” – it is a BIG treat.

November 1, 2013

October 19, 2013

Here is the final painting of Miguel, a very pregnant Bridgette and Luna. I think Bridgette is two weeks from her due date, so I finished the painting in the nick of time. I have to say I’m enjoying painting the pregnant ladies……anyone else need a painting of a pregnant friend / wife / sister / daughter?

October 9, 2013

Burt brought in this super fun mask to paint last week. Though it was extremely detailed in the gold and feathers, I decided to keep my painting to broad and simple strokes. It gave me some fun ideas for Halloween, too.